The development of game software is a time-consuming process. Typically, a new game is developed for a given gaming platform such as XBox™ manufactured by Microsoft Corporation. The gaming platform manufacturer provides a software development kit (SDK) to game developers to start their new game development. The SDK contains application programming interfaces (APIs) that allow the game developers to access functionality of the gaming platform. Also provided may be basic physics, video, and audio packages that can control the movement, look, and sound of objects presented in a game for the gaming platform.
When a game developer decides to create a new object for a game, such as a new vehicle, or a new tool or weapon, the game developer contacts the gaming platform manufacturer and provides a description of the desired new object. Documentation for the new object is generated by the game developer and sent to the gaming platform manufacturer who then takes the new object description and generates the new object essentially manually. The new object, along with the supporting access APIs for the new object are then generated in a new build of the SDK. The next version of the SDK can then be provided to the game developer after the release of the new SDK build. This process can take weeks or more and much time can be lost in iterations of this process to develop the most desirable form for the new object. Thus, the development of new games for a new gaming platform can take as much as two years before a first version of the new game is available for public consumption.
It would be advantageous to reduce the time delay in developing new objects for games to be run on gaming platforms. A reduction in time delay and the removal of human intervention in new object development at the gaming platform manufacturer would likely result in greater efficiencies in game development activities, better utilization of human resources, and a shorter time to market for new games. The present invention addresses these concerns and others.